I’m relishing challenge to stop the rot, says Andrew Strauss

Andrew Strauss today vowed to rise to one of the toughest challenges of his England captaincy and ensure the tourists end a desperate winter on a high note.

Strauss was again asked about his future in the job following four consecutive Test defeats in Asian conditions this winter and a lack of runs from him at the top of the order in the matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

England must win the Second Test here at the P Sara Oval, which starts tomorrow, to level the two-match series and ensure they stay at the top of the world Test rankings.

One of Strauss’s principal qualities as a leader is his ability to remain calm in almost every situation and the 35-year-old is confident these attributes will help the tourists to their first Test win since last August.

“When times are tough, it’s important you stand up and lead and show people the right direction. I like that sort of challenge,” said Strauss. “It hasn’t gone our way so far this winter but I retain absolute faith in our players and the way we like to play our cricket and I am confident it will turn around.

“This is one of the real challenges of leadership. It’s easy when it’s going well: everyone is buoyant and happy. You’ve got to realise you’re not going to win every game you play.

“Sometimes you’ll go through patches where things don’t work out your way, both individually and collectively, and if you retain faith it will turn around, especially if you have players of real quality. I know we have those.”

Strauss was curt when asked whether, in case of defeat, he would consider standing down as captain but continuing as a player.

“That’s not something I’ve considered,” he said. “People are entitled to their opinions; I don’t necessarily share them.

“I’ve got every intention of playing well and every intention of us winning this Test match. I’ve got great faith in us as a team to show that sort of resilience we need to show this week. It’s all very well me talking about it but we need to show it on the pitch.”

Finding a successful formula is paramount, with the absence of Stuart Broad, who returned to England after the First Test with a calf injury, a complication.

There is a suggestion England might bring in Steve Finn and Ravi Bopara for Broad and Samit Patel, although another option is to leave out Monty Panesar and bring in seamer Tim Bresnan, on the winning side for each of his 10 Tests.

For Sri Lanka, Angelo Mathews and Dhammika Prasad should return in place of Dinesh Chandimal and the injured Chanaka Welegedara.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene was sympathetic towards Strauss and said: “I can feel for him. It’s tough, but I am sure he can handle it.”

This venue hosted Sri Lanka’s first ever Test, against England 30 years ago, but it has a capacity of just 5,000, meaning some England supporters might not be able to get into the ground tomorrow.